The bottom 6 teams in the 2004 Constructors' Championship were entitled to run a third car in free practice on Friday. These drivers drove on Friday but did not compete in qualifying or the race.
Before the race, a minute of silence was held as a mark of respect for those who had lost their lives in the London bombings three days earlier.[2]Daily Express reporter Bob McKenzie honored the pledge to run naked around the Silverstone track if McLaren won the race in 2004. McLaren boss Ron Dennis sent McKenzie on his way two hours before the start of the race. He arrived at the finish line 36 minutes later after honouring his promise wearing nothing more than silver body paint and a sporran. McKenzie's run raised money for charity.[3][4]
The weather was hot, with air temperature at 30°C, and the track temperature at 45°C as the cars completed the formation lap. Sato stalled as he came to the grid, after he had mistakenly pressed the kill switch on his steering wheel, but race director Charlie Whiting nonetheless started the race, with the safety car being deployed on lap 2 to allow the marshals to safely return the BAR to the pit lane. Sato would eventually rejoin the race, two laps behind the leaders. Montoya made a fast start, passing Button off the grid and then overtaking Alonso for the lead into Becketts. After the safety car period, Montoya retained the lead until the first round of pit stops, although Alonso remained no more than a second and a half behind as he and the Colombian traded fastest laps. Button held third, while Barrichello and Fisichella passed a slow-starting Trulli, who in turn was holding up Michael Schumacher. Räikkönen, already up four places, was thus able to close up behind Schumacher and Trulli, but was unable to overtake them until the pit stops.
Montoya made his first pit stop on lap 21, a lap earlier than planned due to traffic.[5] Alonso followed on lap 23, rejoining the race almost side-by-side with Montoya, who again held his line. Fisichella led for the next two laps, setting the fastest lap in the process, before making his first stop. On lap 28, with every driver except Sato having pitted, Montoya led Alonso by three seconds, followed by Fisichella, Button, Barrichello, Räikkönen, Michael Schumacher and Trulli.
Fernando Alonso took pole position, but had to give best to Montoya in the race.
On lap 32 Barrichello, on a three-stop strategy, made his second stop. This enabled Räikkönen, now the fastest man on the track, to close up behind Button. Montoya responded to his team-mate's pace, and to Alonso, by setting back-to-back fastest laps on laps 40 and 41, increasing his lead over the Spaniard to over six seconds. On lap 43, Räikkönen took fourth when Button made his second stop, easily retaining this position after his own stop two laps later. Montoya pitted on lap 44, putting Alonso back in front, before Barrichello made his third stop on lap 45. On lap 46 Fisichella, on course for his first podium since winning the opening race of the season in Australia, made his second stop, but stalled as he tried to leave the pits, promoting Räikkönen to third.
Alonso led for five laps before pitting on lap 49, but lost time trying to lap Trulli. This meant that he did not have a big enough lead to make his stop and rejoin the race in front of Montoya, though he was comfortably ahead of Räikkönen. In the end, the Colombian took his first win for McLaren by 2.7 seconds.
Räikkönen set the fastest race lap on the final lap to finish less than 12 seconds behind Alonso, while Fisichella ended up 3.5 seconds behind the Finn. Button finished a distant fifth, ahead of Michael Schumacher and Barrichello, while Ralf Schumacher edged out Toyota team-mate Trulli for the final point.
There was only one retirement in the race, Jordan's Narain Karthikeyan dropping out on lap 11 with an electrical failure.
The result allowed Alonso to increase his lead over Räikkönen in the Drivers' Championship by two points, 77 to 51. Michael Schumacher remained in third on 43 points, while Montoya moved up to sixth with 26. In the Constructors' Championship, McLaren reduced the deficit to Renault by three points, 102 to 87, Ferrari remaining in third on 74.
The 2004 San Marino Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 25 April 2004 at the Autodromo Enzo e Dino Ferrari, Imola. It was Race 4 of 18 in the 2004 FIA Formula One World Championship.
The 2004 Malaysian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 21 March 2004 at the Sepang International Circuit. It was Race 2 of 18 in the 2004 FIA Formula One World Championship. The race was won by Michael Schumacher for Ferrari. This was also the first podium for future World Champion Jenson Button, who finished in 3rd place.
The 2003 Malaysian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 23 March 2003 at the Sepang International Circuit. It was the second race of the 2003 Formula One season, and it was won by Kimi Räikkönen driving the MP4-17 for McLaren-Mercedes. This was Räikkönen's first Formula One Grand Prix victory. As well, Fernando Alonso scored his first pole position and podium finish.
The 2004 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 23 May 2004, at the Circuit de Monaco, contested over 77 laps. It was Race 6 of 18 in the 2004 FIA Formula One World Championship. The race was won by Renault driver Jarno Trulli; his only victory in Formula One. BAR driver, Jenson Button finished in second position, one second behind Trulli and Rubens Barrichello took the third and final podium spot for Ferrari.
The 2004 Chinese Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 26 September 2004 at the Shanghai International Circuit. It was Race 16 of 18 in the 2004 FIA Formula One World Championship and was the inaugural Chinese Grand Prix.
The 2004 Japanese Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 10 October 2004 at the Suzuka Circuit. It was Race 17 of 18 in the 2004 FIA Formula One World Championship.
The 2004 European Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 30 May 2004 at the Nürburgring. It was Race 7 of 18 in the 2004 FIA Formula One World Championship.
The 2001 British Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 15 July 2001 at Silverstone in Northamptonshire, England. It was the eleventh race of the 2001 FIA Formula One World Championship.
The 2004 United States Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on June 20, 2004 at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in Speedway, Indiana. It was Race 9 of 18 in the 2004 FIA Formula One World Championship.
The 2004 Belgian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 29 August 2004, at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, near the village of Francorchamps, Wallonia, Belgium. It was Race 14 of 18 in the 2004 FIA Formula One World Championship.
The 2005 Australian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Melbourne Grand Prix Circuit on 6 March 2005. It was the first round of the 2005 Formula One season. The 58-lap race was won by Renault driver Giancarlo Fisichella after he started from pole position. Rubens Barrichello finished second for the Ferrari team and Fisichella's team-mate Fernando Alonso came in third.
The 2005 Bahrain Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 3 April 2005 at the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir, Bahrain. The 57-lap race was the third round of the 2005 Formula One season and the second running of the Bahrain Grand Prix, since its inception the year before.
The 2005 European Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 29 May 2005 at the Nürburgring in Nürburg, Germany. The 59-lap race was the seventh round of the 2005 FIA Formula One World Championship, the 49th running of the European Grand Prix, and the 15th European Grand Prix as a standalone event. It was the second of a series of six races held within eight weeks.
The 2005 Canadian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 12 June 2005 at the Circuit Gilles Villeneuve in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The 70-lap race was the eighth round of the 2005 Formula One season, the 43rd running of the Canadian Grand Prix, and the 37th running as a round of the World Championship. It set a ratings record and was the most watched F1 race in history with 51 million viewers. It was also the first of two consecutive North American rounds.
The 2005 French Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 3 July 2005 at the Circuit de Nevers Magny-Cours near Magny-Cours in France. It was the tenth race of the 2005 FIA Formula One World Championship. The 70-lap race was won from pole position by Fernando Alonso, driving a Renault, with Drivers' Championship rival Kimi Räikkönen finishing second in a McLaren-Mercedes and Michael Schumacher third in a Ferrari.
The 2005 Hungarian Grand Prix was a Formula One race, held on 31 July 2005 in the Hungaroring, Mogyoród, Pest, Hungary at 14:00 CEST (UTC+2). It was the 13th race of the 2005 Formula One season.
The 2005 Italian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 4 September 2005 at the Autodromo Nazionale di Monza, Italy. It was the fifteenth race of the 2005 FIA Formula One World Championship.
The 2005 Japanese Grand Prix was a Formula One race which was held at Suzuka International Racing Course on 9 October 2005. It was the eighteenth and penultimate round of the 2005 Formula One World Championship, the thirty-first running of the Japanese Grand Prix and nineteenth to be held at Suzuka.
The 2006 Malaysian Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held at the Sepang International Circuit in Selangor, Malaysia on 19 March 2006. The 56-lap race was the second round of the 2006 Formula One season and the eighth running of the Malaysian Grand Prix as a World Championship race.
The 2006 Monaco Grand Prix was a Formula One motor race held on 28 May 2006 at the Circuit de Monaco. The 78-lap race was the seventh round of the 2006 Formula One season. Prior to the race, Renault's Fernando Alonso had finished on the podium in all of the previous six Grands Prix, winning three of those races. His main championship rival, Michael Schumacher was looking to win the race as it would equal Ayrton Senna's record at Monaco for most wins (six).
References
↑ "British". Formula1.com. Archived from the original on 12 July 2005. Retrieved 23 December 2020.
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Kimi Räikkönen 
